Just a Small Change
O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise. Psalm 51:15 NASB
That – So what is David really saying? Is he saying that he is unable to praise YHVH because YHVH has not opened his lips? Or is he saying that if YHVH opens his lips, then he will praise Him? It all depends on how you translate the vav.
First we should note that this verse is not a separate verse in the Tanakh. It is a continuous thought of the previous verse. That means it is directly connected to the idea of rescue from “blood.” We noticed that rescue from blood is literally deliverance from death, not the guilt of sin. In verse 15 David declares that upon rescue he will sing aloud the righteousness of YHVH. Verse 16 is Hebrew parallelism, that is, a continuation of the same thought expressed differently. With this in mind, “open my lips” is the equivalent of “let me continue to live.” As the aphorism demonstrates, dead men tell no tales. David cannot praise the Lord if he is executed for his crimes.
Now we come to the critical vav. The Hebrew text is:
The fourth word (from the right) is upi, the combination of a vav and the word pe plus the possessive pronoun ani (contracted). Typically the vav is translated “and, together with, that is, or,” or “then.” By far the majority of the translations are “and,” although context can determine the other uses. But what about “that”? Because the vav has such a wide umbrella, it is sometimes translated “so that.” This is what the translators of the NASB assume. They ignore the usual “and” and choose “so that.” What is the difference?
If we retain the NASB translation, the implication is this: David asks God to open his lips so that he might declare God’s praise. In other words, until God opens David’s lips, praise will not be uttered. It takes a divine act for David to have the ability to declare praise. God acts first; David is then able to act.
But if the vav is treated in the usual way (as “and”), then the verse says something else. First, it parallels the previous verse, a verse where David states that deliverance from blood results in a tongue joyfully singing praises (the “then” in the NASB is added). What action of YHVH is needed to bring about David’s joyful song? Nothing more than a stay of execution. If this verse is a parallelism with the previous thought, David is not asking God to somehow release his mouth so that he might offer praises. He is saying that if he is still breathing, he will praise God. “Open my lips,” that is, “keep me alive” and “I will praise You.”
The NASB translation suggests the necessity of God opening the means of speech before praises can be uttered. But the vav suggests that praise is the automatic result of YHVH’s mercy. Praise does not require David’s mouth to be opened. Praise is what David will do of his own initiative if he is still alive after all this. “Spare me, Lord, and I will praise You.”
Let’s demythologize the text. Let’s remove the spiritualization that puts the meaning of this text in heavenly courts. David wants to live. The Torah says, “You must die.” David pleads for mercy and says, “If you grant my life, I will praise You.” Are we any different? Perhaps the first thing we must do to think like a Hebrew is realize that “life” is not a spiritual phenomenon relegated to the world to come. Life is here, now. And every breath we take is a sign that God shows mercy. Praise Him!
Topical Index: vav, life, mercy, Psalm 51:15
The Original Lie: “you shall not surely die”.
Define “death”.
Define WHEN.
Define “surely”.
Define Lie.
‘Natural’ immortality of the soul is one of the most pervasive, widely held beliefs on this planet. Versions of it can be found in almost every false belief system. The original lie lies behind some of the most outrageous, as well as the most subtle, teachings to be found. We WANT to believe that we will live forever so badly that it seems there is not straw too thin to grasp to retain that belief. “The soul that sinneth, he shall surely die” is so unpopular that even the worst pulpit thumpers are going to soften it with immortality in hell. What part of ‘cease to exist’ do we not understand?
It seems we bring a lens of our belief systems to whatever we think. None of us read even the Bible with a neutral mind. We bring to it what we seek out of it. This is the problem of the paradigm. If I choose to believe that I am immortal, then there is going to be no part of “you shall surely die” that I am going to understand. I am going to want to twist every word to fit my paradigm. We really want to live! We want it so badly we will believe most anything that reassures us of that. The doctrine of eternal torment in hell was built entirely on this desire to live forever, for if the word “die” does not mean what it does, then it has to be redefined as “torment”. This is how people have been taught to read that Good Book. From cover to cover, they read the word “death” as “burn in hell FOREVER”. Out of our desire to live is built such a monstrous picture of God that many people have been driven away from Him altogether. “Save from death” is reinterpreted as the stern judge not throwing you in to everlasting torment. All of it has to do with ”forever’, and none of it has to do with the day called “today”.
This is why I do believe that grace must be the most over-abused, underrated, gift of all. On one hand, because we do not understand that life itself is a gift EVERY MOMENT; held for us by His grace for the purposes of giving us every chance possible to learn how to choose it, we are not thankful for the breath we breathe. If we think that we are ‘naturally’ immortal, then we are going to think that our lives are held by US. On the other hand, we make grace out to be the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card. Like the belief of immortality of the soul, we twist grace to be something that, once we hold it(!) not even God can take it back from us! “Once saved, always saved” is, likewise, an immortal statement. Life, then, is something that never started and can never be stopped. Wait: that would make us gods! Just how long HAVE we been listening to the snake? Sadly, I think we have been listening to him from the pulpit, too.
If we go back and understand that the words “life” and “death” are talking about today – RIGHT NOW – then, starting from that Garden, everything changes in the entire Book. Even grace. Especially grace. Praise Him while I have breath in the land of the living for His grace, that I am not instantly consumed (not FOREVER BEING CONSUMED)! Life then becomes defined for what it really is. Life is about the present: right now. Right now is the only time life can be found. Life is not about the shades of immortal past or the distant future: life is about today! Even through eternity, life will always be about today. And it can start now! This is why grace is amazing. Halleluah!
Great post Laurita!…. “encourage one another daily, while it is called ‘today’ ” we are exhorted….every time I open my eyes, it is today….I’ve never spent one waking moment in tomorrow…..today is all I have and only in my pride, my presumption, my idolatry should I choose rebellion today banking on some grace chip to forgive me tomorrow…
Every breath is a gift…
Death Defined
~ What is death? In simplest terms, death is separation. Those who are dead are separated from those who are alive. No communication, no fellowship, -no response. Dead is dead.
~ Do not be unequally bound together with unbelievers [do not make mismatched alliances with them, inconsistent with your faith]. For what partnership can righteousness have with lawlessness? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? [What communion or communication does life have with death?]
None. No can do.
Dead You Say
~ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.. (Ephesians 2.1) Dead? Shall we continue on?
~in which you also formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience..
Separated You Say
~ This includes you* who were once far away from God. You were His enemies, separated from Him by your evil thoughts and actions ~ formerly alienated and hostile in mind, – engaged in evil deeds..
Wonderful Words
yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through Death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach–… (Colossians 1.22)
Death Defeated
~ Since then the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through Death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.. ~ (Hebrews 2.14)
The Turning Point
“But God..” (I love these two words!) ~ But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, has made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus ~
In loving-kindness Jesus came,
My soul in mercy to reclaim,
And from the depths of sin and shame
In love He lifted me.
From sinking sand He lifted me,
With tender hand He lifted me;
From shades of night to plains of light,
Oh, praise His Name, He lifted me!
He called me long before I heard,
Before my sinful heart was stirred,
But when I took Him at His word,
Forgiv’n, He lifted me.
From sinking sand He lifted me,
With tender hand He lifted me;
From shades of night to plains of light,
Oh, praise His Name, He lifted me!
His brow was pierced with many a thorn,
His hands by cruel nails were torn,
When from my guilt and grief, forlorn,
In love He lifted me.
From sinking sand He lifted me,
With tender hand He lifted me;
From shades of night to plains of light,
Oh, praise His Name, He lifted me!
Now on a higher plane I dwell,
And with my soul I know ’tis well;
Yet how or why, I cannot tell,
He should have lifted me.
From sinking sand He lifted me,
With tender hand He lifted me;
From shades of night to plains of light,
Oh, praise His Name, He lifted me!
~ raised to walk in newness of Life! ~
Do You Believe This?
~ And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. — Do you believe this? (John 11.26)